Three times Haruka wanted to confess and one time she did
by Nelxis
Summary: She had a list of things she needed to do. The first thing was always 'Confess'. (HMTC prompt party May 2015)


**I**

Haruka was eight years old. She sat by the kitchen table, listening to how her mother tried to call someone who would fix the window. There were still some shards of glass on the floor. Haruka looked at broken window. At least it was a warm summer day, so it wasn't too cold.

Her mother ended the call and said she was going out. Haruka nodded. She waited until she heard the door close before going to her room and pulling out a ball from underneath the bed. She knew she should confess and tell her mother that she had been the one who had broken the window by kicking the ball a bit too hard. When Haruka had heard the shattering glass, she had ran inside to check the damage. There had been glass everywhere. Haruka's first instinct had been to hide the ball. She had quickly taken it to her room and hidden it under her bed. When her mother got home, Haruka had told her that the window had already been broken when she got home from school.

Haruka pushed the ball back underneath the bed. She knew lying was wrong, but she was now ashamed for lying in the first place. There was no way she could admit that she had not only broken the window, but also lied.

Or maybe she should just confess. Her mother would find out eventually, since there was nothing inside the house that could have broken the window. She should be honorable and confess. Then, she would offer to pay for the window, even if she didn't have the money for it. She would even fix the window herself!

When Haruka's mother got back home, Haruka was still counting the money she had been saving in a small glass jar.

It wasn't enough.

1\. Confess.

2\. Offer to pay for the window.

3\. Fix the window.

 **II**

At the age of ten, Haruka realised she liked girls.

It all started when the new café opened near Haruka's school. One day she was sitting there, when she saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. The waitress had beautiful auburn hair that looked really soft, and she had a pretty smile on her face. Haruka fell for her right away. She came back almost every day, hoping to see the waitress. Eventually she found out that her name was Akemi, and that she studied at the university. Akemi was always so nice to Haruka. She always gave her some leftovers from the previous day. That only made Haruka's crush on her even bigger.

"Why are you always going to that café?" Haruka's friends from school asked her one day. Haruka blushed.

"Well… there's this girl. She's a waitress there. And she's really pretty and sometimes she gives me leftover cookies," she explained. Her friends looked at her with confused looks on their faces.

"Do you have a crush on her?" they asked. Haruka was now bright red. She didn't want to admit it at first, but she ended up nodding anyways. The girls at school always talked about their crushes, so it was normal for her to do the same.

"But you're both girls!" her friends said.

"So?"

"So? Do you like girls then?"

"Of course. I am a girl," Haruka stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's not what we meant. Do you like girls in… that way?"

"That way?"

"That way."

Haruka thought for a moment. Was it not normal to like girls that way? But Akemi was so pretty. Surely her friends would understand her feelings if they saw her!

"Haruka… I think you're one of… those girls," her friends whispered. Haruka only nodded, even though she wasn't exactly sure what they meant by "those girls".

That afternoon Haruka went to the café to see Akemi. She got another free cookie, which she ate in silence as Akemi served coffee to the other customers. She wanted to tell Akemi about her conversation with her friends. Maybe Akemi was also one of "those girls". Or maybe she wasn't, and being one of "those girls" was a bad thing and Akemi would start to hate Haruka.

She lanced at Akemi, who flashed her a pretty smile. Haruka felt her ears and cheeks burning, and she turned her focus back on the cookie. Yeah, she did like girls that way.

1\. Confess.

2\. Find out what "those girls" means.

3\. Finish the cookie.

 **III**

Haruka was now thirteen, and she had just learned how to drive. As soon as she was tall enough to see out of the car, a friend of hers, Juro, who was cool and old enough to drive, had taught her to drive a car. Obviously Haruka wouldn't be able to get a license for a while, but she loved the speed. At first they had only been driving at empty parking lots or small roads that lead to nowhere, but sometimes they switched to bigger roads. That was when Haruka could drive fast.

"You're already driving like a pro, kid" Juro laughed as Haruka turned the steering wheel. She was already going way over the speed limit, but there weren't any other cars on the road, so it didn't even matter.

"Do you think I should become a racer then?" Haruka asked.

"Sure, but I think you should wait to get a licence first," Juro said and glanced at the rear-view mirror.

"Oh no," he mumbled.

"What?" Haruka asked and looked at the mirror. She saw a flash of blue light.

"Pull over, we need to switch," Juro said and opened his seatbelt. Haruka did as she was told and quickly pulled to a halt at the side of the road. She had barely even opened her seatbelt when Juro pulled her to the passenger's side while he jumped to the driver's seat. They barely managed to buckle in the seatbelts before the police came knocking against the window. Juro rolled it open and the police leaned down.

"Do you know how fast you were going?" he asked bluntly. Haruka felt her heart racing in her chest.

"Uh, a little over the limit, I guess," Juro said.

"A little? You were driving over 100 and the limit is 80," the policeman reminded him, "May I see your license?"

Haruka kept staring at her knees when the police took Juro's license and talked with him. She felt quilty, letting her friend take all the blame. She was the one who was driving over the limit and she wasn't even old enough to drive! Haruka wanted to confess, but instead she just kept staring at her knees.

The policeman wrote them a ticket and reminded them to drive more safely in the future. Juro sighed in relief as the police car disappeared around the corner. Haruka glanced at the ticket in his hand.

"I can pay for half of that," she offered. Juro shook his head and started the car.

"No, I'll just ask for my dad to pay for it," he sighed. Haruka could still feel the guilt in her heart.

"But I was the one driving too fast," she insisted.

"Yes, but I was the one who let you drive. Don't worry about it, kid," Juro said. They both sat in silence for the rest of the drive back home.

1\. Confess.

2\. Accept any punishment you recieve.

3\. Pay for the ticket.

 **IV**

Haruka slammed the door closed and threw her jacket on the floor. It was already late, and Haruka was feeling too tired to hang it up. She would do it in the morning.

"Michiru! I'm home!" she called and walked to the living room, only to find Michiru asleep on the sofa. She smiled and walked over to the sleeping girl.

"Michiru?" she whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind Michiru's ear. The violinist didn't wake up. Haruka stayed there for a moment, stroking Michiru's cheek.

She wished she could have the chance to confess her feelings to Michiru. But then again, she didn't even know how to start. Any time she tried to open her mouth and say how much Michiru meant to her, the words refused to come out. She wanted Michiru to know how much Haruka wanted – no, needed her. Even though they lived together and barely left each other's company, it just wasn't enough for Haruka. She wanted to be able to introduce Michiru to everyone as her girlfriend. She wanted to hold her hand when they walked down the street, and she wanted to kiss Michiru whenever she wanted. She wanted to fall asleep with Michiru in her arms. Haruka just wanted Michiru to be hers.

Haruka pulled her hand away from Michiru's cheek. She hooked one arm under the girl's knees and the other behind her back. Michiru stirred in her sleep, leaning her head against Haruka, but she didn't wake up. Haruka carried her to the bedroom and set her gently down on the bed. She wrapped the blanket around Michiru, but for some reason she couldn't leave. She wanted to stay here with the girl of her dreams instead of going to her own room and spending the night alone.

Haruka didn't even notice that she was holding Michiru's hand in hers.

"I wish I could tell you how I feel," she whispered, stroking the back of Michiru's hand. Just then, the violinist woke up from her sleep.

"Mmh… Haruka?" she mumbled, still half-asleep.

"Sorry. You were passed out on the sofa. I hope you don't mind that I carried you here," Haruka smiled.

"Why?"

Haruka frowned. That was a strange guestion, and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to answer. She decided to use this opportunity and confess.

"Because I love you."

Michiru rewarded her with a smile and squeezed her hand gently. Her lips moved a little, looking like she was trying to say "I love you". Instead, she fell back asleep. Haruka smiled and let go of Michiru's hand. The violinist might not even remember the short conversation in the morning, but Haruka had confessed, and that was all that mattered.

Maybe one day, they could live their lives properly together.

1\. Confess.

2\. Save the world.

3\. Live.


End file.
